Explore marriage records from Gibraltar’s Scottish Presbyterian Church, St Andrew’s Church of Scotland. Many of the records include marriages of British Army personnel stationed on the Rock and others who either worked or lived in the colony. St Andrew’s Church first opened in 1843 and is still open today. Marriage records begin from the early years of the church and up to 1935.

The records include a transcript and an image of the original record. The details in each record can vary, but most will include:

Name

Birth year

Age

Residence

Marriage date

Marriage place

Spouse’s name

Spouse’s birth year

Spouse’s age

Spouse’s residence

Father’s name

Spouse’s father’s name

Image

Viewing the image will give you even further information about your ancestor:

Marital status

Rank or profession

Father’s rank or profession

Witnesses – In some cases witnesses to a marriage are related to the couple, either a sibling or a cousin. This is a great source for family history.

Couple’s signatures

Discover more about these records

These parish registers are from the Scottish Presbyterian Church, St Andrew’s Church of Scotland, which was built in 1843. Many of the Scottish Regiments in Gibraltar had a Presbyterian Minister attached to them. No records exist of any civilian Minister being permanently in the colony until the Rev William Strauchan (a schoolmaster) commenced his work in January 1840 and continued for 9 years until December 1848. Prior to the building of the church, the Presbyterian congregation of Gibraltar worshipped in the Exchange Rooms of the Wesleyan chapel.

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a small peninsula located on the Iberian coast, south of Spain. Its strategic position, at the entrance of the Mediterranean Sea, has given it great significance in European history. It is sometimes referred to as The Rock or the Rock of Gibraltar because of the large limestone which forms part of the Betic Cordillera mountain range. The upper area is a nature reserve and home to about 250 Barbary Macaques, the largest wild monkey population in Europe.

The territory was ceded to the British from the Spanish after the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Through the next century it endured continuous sieges from the Spanish in attempts to regain the region. It was a major base for the British forces during the Peninsular Wars. It has shown its strength as a military base during the Napoleonic wars and later during both world wars.

After the Napoleonic Wars, the peninsula became the home to a variety of immigrants. Genoese, Italians, Jews, Portuguese and of course Spanish and British all lived on the peninsula. Early in the 19th century outbreaks of yellow fever and cholera killed thousands. Sanitation and sewer systems were a concern. The town had small and crowded dwellings, which assisted the spread of disease. In 1865, a new Board of Sanitary Commissioners was established to create new drainage and better water supplies. Since the Treaty of Utrecht, Gibraltar has been under the responsibility of the British government. In 1965 and again in 2002, public referendums decided that the people of Gibraltar wanted to remain part of Britain rather than join Spain.